But Licht and the Bucs are all about data, aka the secret underworld of NFL player — and potential player — evaluation. Tampa Bay quietly hired a noted analytics chief this offseason.

Joe asked Licht today about the role of analytics in his draft evaluation, and Licht explained that it’s a constant force for him and Lovie at One Buc Palace.

“Analytics, early on in my career, I was from the old school where it was you just watch the tape and that’s what it is and that is the bare bones,” Licht said. “You know, you gotta evaluate the player and what he does on tape, but we both feel that analytics help us, guide us and give us some – raise some questions that help us evaluate the player a little bit better. You might be looking at particular position and the analytics don’t support taking him at that position, and it makes you just – you want to make sure that you’re making the right decision. It’s a great guide, we use it all the time.”

For the record, much of the data crowd loves Johnny Football and his 70 percent completion rate from the pocket.

Joe’s got mixed feelings about all the spreadsheets, but it’s certainly valuable if you can somehow figure out how to effectively complement data and old school study. NFL teams are truly in the infancy stages of that.

27 Responses to “Stats Crunchers: A Daily Force Inside One Buc”

How convenient, only when it comes to JM does it apply. smh I can’t get over how often you preach to us that stats are for chumps, except now of course.
Where here does Joe preach that stats are gospel? Must you make stuff up?–Joe

@BFFL – Joe uses the same standard he has since Day 1 back in 2008: Joe writes about what interests Joe in the world of the Buccaneers. And Joe tries to have fun while delivering fans all the Bucs-related news and opinion that Joe finds interesting.

There’s never been anything more to it than that. And there never will be.

Does Joe use analytics to study WHEN people are reading and what their visiting patterns are? Absolutlely. That helps Joe manage his days and nights.

BFFL – Precisely why we have to click on each story seperatly these last few months. But you can’t be upset with that. Analytics and stats help this site (that you probably visit daily) deliver content that appeals to the largest group of fans. Don’t mix athletic stats with business trends.

It makes sense to do both. Look at the tape and the analytics. Then make the best decision you can based on your gut instincts of what you learned. If you know football and players you will make many more right choices than wrong. If you make more wrong choices you won’t be a GM or head coach gor long.

For the record, much of the data crowd loved Tim Tebow’s 66.4 percent completion rate and his 145 touchdowns.It seems like so many who read that line from Joe missed the key detail: “from the pocket.”–Joe

Jordan Says:
April 30th, 2014 at 9:09 am
For the record, much of the data crowd loved Tim Tebow’s 66.4 percent completion rate and his 145 touchdowns.

It seems like so many who read that line from Joe missed the key detail: “from the pocket.”–Joe
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Most of Tebow’s throws from the pocket were bubble screens. Tony Pike’s, Graham Harrell’s, and Tajh Boyd’s completion % was way higher than it should’ve been because of the types of throws they usually made from the pocket. Manziel throws more than just bubble screens. I prefer Brett Smith in round 3, but Manziel is no chump.

Joe, I was trying to shed light on the fact that excellent numbers in college mean very little if the manner in which the stats were achieved in college runs contrary to the playing style of the NFL. Surely, Tim Tebow’s inflated completion % in college was to due an abundance of short bubble screens. I believe Johnny will face a similar challenge. How much of Johnny’s college successes will continue in a league where he is not faster than the CBs, Safetys, and even some LBS.